Will meditating increase your intelligence?

It was once thought that our level of intelligence remained static throughout life.

However, there is now strong evidence that we can raise our intellectual capacity — and that meditation may be one of the most efficient ways of doing that.

Decide for yourself: here’s the recent scientific research on meditation and intelligence.

Meditation and intelligence: implicit evidence

Scientific studies have shown that Transcendental Meditation improves the functions enhancing one’s intellectual abilities. Transcendental Meditation helps to relieve stress and improve overall well-being. It would therefore not be surprising if it also generated better cognitive performance.

But are there scientific studies which have focused directly on Transcendental Meditation and increases in levels of intelligence

Meditation and intelligence: explicit evidence

Most of research on intelligence has been conducted on young people – kids in their early childhood, students at schools and universities. Here are few of the most recent results.

INTELLIGENCE AMONG CHILDREN IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

A 45-week study with 25 experimental and 25 controls among elementary school students found increases in principal components of self-concept, analytical ability, and general intellectual performance among experimental participants (analysis of covariance). The practice of Transcendental Meditation was found to accelerate natural developmental consolidation of awareness at a deeper level – the thinking level versus the perceptual level.

INTELLIGENCE RISE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

Another research paper compared intelligence levels as measured with different tests and inventories (Test for Creative Thinking-Drawing Production (TCT-DP); Constructive Thinking Inventory (CTI); Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT); State and Trait Anxiety (STAI); Inspection Time (IT); and Culture Fair Intelligence Test (CFIT). It analyzed three studies of 362 high school students at three different schools in Taiwan.

In conclusion, the scientists reported that regular practice of Transcendental Meditation produced significant effects on all variables compared to non-treatment controls. Here’s the article with more detailed results

HIGHER INTELLECTUAL ABILITES IN MEDITATING UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

A third longitudinal study investigated for 2 years the effect of participation in a special university curriculum, whose principal innovative feature is twice-daily practice of the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program. The intelligence measures were based on Cattell’s Culture Fair Intelligence Test (CFIT) and Hick’s reaction time, correlating with general intelligence. The research results indicated a clear improvement on both scales for those 45 college students who were regularly practicing Transcendental Meditation.

In conclusion

It seems like a fair bet that Transcendental Meditation — if practiced regularly, 2 times 20 minutes per day — will open up your intellectual and cognitive capacities. Science says it in its neutral academic language, and statements from practitioners confirm it from a first-hand perspective. So…

WHAT IS THE TM TECHNIQUE? Transcendental Meditation or TM is a simple, natural and effortless mental technique practiced twice a day for 20 minutes. It is easy to learn from a qualified teacher (it only takes 1-2 hours on 4 consecutive days) and enjoyable to practice independently hence forth.

TM technique

In brief — and contrary to what the name itself might suggest 😉 — the Transcendental Meditation technique is a very simple, natural and effortless way of letting your mind settle down into an extremely calm and wise state of rest. Best effects are produced with regular practice of two times twenty minutes a day.

We’ll come back to the “calm” and “wise” part in a second.

But first the issue of mantras.

Intelligence Quotient or IQ is one of the oldest and most well-known measures of human intelligence. Though its accuracy and relevance is today widely debated, “IQ” remains the catch word for intellectual ability. One interesting fact about IQ is that according to longitudinal studies, intelligence has arguably been rising over time in Western societies. This gradual increase of 3 points per 10 years on the IQ scale (with the starting point back in 1930’s) is known as the Flynn effect.